Got to see Jupiter and Saturn in the same eyepiece

[ybbor]

I was fortunate tonight to get a clear night to see the celestial event of a millennium.

Saturn was directly above Jupiter and I ran home to get my telescope and find some open sky in our neighborhood park.

It was incredible, there was a man from the house across from the park and I was able to show him the view. It was the first time he saw Saturn’s rings through a telescope. You could also see the 4 Galilean moons.

So in one eyepiece you had Saturn and Jupiter. Very cool!

My wife and daughter also got to check it out.

I doubt tomorrow will be clear as we are expecting rain/snow so I am happy to have gotten the chance to see it tonight. I hope others did as well.

[elleng]

1. Great!

Cloudy here, and not forecast to clear until Tuesday; fingers crossed.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

3. Same here in Alexandria, though the moon broke through.

Even if it's clear, I'll have a hard time getting a good view with a telescope through the trees. That planetary pair is low in the sky.

[ybbor]

4. It sets early so get it right after sunset

It was below the trees by 7:00

[MontanaMama]

2. Dang. Hoping it clears up tomorrow.

It was cloudy tonight...the moon was in and out of site all evening. Typical Montana winter sky.

[ybbor]

5. Good luck

It’s super cool, but you need to check for it right at sundown.

[MontanaMama]

6. I've read that.

I live in a deep canyon and sunset and sunrise are a crap shoot. We are planning to drive down to the valley to see it.

[ybbor]

8. I know what you mean

I lived in Telluride, CO for ten years and you definitely have limited sky in those mountain canyons. It’s worth the trade off though.

It will be worth the drive down valley to get a glimpse if you can.

[Deuxcents]

7. Dammit

I read about this a few days ago but here in south Florida, we have a front coming in and storms. I’m so glad you were able to experience this with your family n neighbor. There’s something magical about when we get a celestial show..especially one like this. So I heard!

[ybbor]

9. I feel very lucky

It has been overcast most of the week. It cleared up in the late afternoon and got cloudy again right after they set.

Good luck

[roamer65]

10. Sky cleared in MI tonite.

Was able to view it for about an hour.

It was cool not to have to move the telescope to see both.

With frost setting in, I then observed M45 (Pleiades) and came in for the night.

[ybbor]

19. I'm in Ann Arbor

Stupidly was on my way to Costco right before sundown. Ran through the store then raced home to get about 20 minutes of viewing.

It is one of the coolest astronomical things I’ve seen. The total solar eclipse in 2017 is still tops, but this is up there. Seeing it through even my cheap telescope was cool.

[roamer65]

21. Tops for me was the 2012 Venus transit, hands down.

Reason being is I will never see one again. Next Venus transit is December, 2117.

This Jupiter-Saturn alignment is a similar situation. I will never get to see one again.

Went to Nebraska in 2017 into the totality path, but was mostly cloudy. Still saw totality through the clouds for brief seconds. It’s third because if I want to see another one, it’s only 1-2 years later.

I plan on chasing the April 8, 2024 total eclipse to get a clear sky.

[ybbor]

24. We went to Tennessee for eclipse

Traveled to get as close to center of path as possible, Sweetwater, TN. We had clear skies and it was incredible. 2 mins 37 secs of totality. Look forward to seeing the 2024 one. I told my mom I will bring her along this time.

I did get to see one of Jupiter’s moons transit it’s face years ago. That was also cool.

[roamer65]

27. 2028 I want to go to Australia one last time.

There is a total eclipse in July 2028 and for the evenings it would be winter skies down under. Lots of darkness and southern sky stuff we can’t see up here.

[ybbor]

25. Oh yeah, about the chasing part...

I was online looking at weather in Frankfort, KY, Nashville, TN and Knoxville, TN. Made decision to head to Knoxville the day before leaving and it paid off. Used points from both Hilton and Marriott to get our rooms. Spent a night in Pigeon Forge outside of the Great Smokey Mountains National Park. So that was cool, too. Went to Gatlinburg for an evening and got to see a truly sad portrayal of a natural setting. But we still had a blast.

Still one of our family’s best trips and we have so many stories from it. Primarily the return trip with all of the traffic after the eclipse. Waze took us through the holler of Tennessee to get home. Very entertaining and unforgettable! Lots of inside jokes were made that we still reference to this day.

[Cracklin Charlie]

11. I got to see it with my naked eye last night.

In Oklahoma. It’s been too cloudy in my town, plus I have to look southwest over a big city. No chance.

So, I feel lucky to have seen it at all.

Very cool.

[Upthevibe]

12. Awesome! n/t

[Thekaspervote]

13. Lucky you!!

[Backseat Driver]

14. Some people are lucky; some are not...

I live in one of the cloudiest cities in the USA; every time there's a special astronomical event, one can be sure it can be seen only above the clouds. Maybe tomorrow? I'm gonna be so bummed as DH and I have been watching these planets for a while now.

[redstatebluegirl]

15. We were out with the telescope too!

It was an amazing sight to see them both in the eyepiece! We will be out again tonight.

[AZ8theist]

16. Here in Arizona it was visible for several hours

Clear sky. With binoculars the Galilean moons are visible, but Saturns rings are not.
Also, if you draw a straight line from Jupiter back through the moon, you will see Mars on the other side. It's very bright since it's at it's closest point to Earth right now.
Astronomy is AWESOME!!

[ybbor]

18. I love the Arizona sky for star gazing

Having lived in SW Colorado for years I spent a lot of time in the Utah and Arizona deserts backpacking and rafting. Always had my star chart tucked into my pack.

My last views of Hale-Bopp were in Havasupai in the Grand. Still have vivid memories of it framed by the canyon walls.

As the late, great Jack Horkheimer said “Keep looking up”.

[roamer65]

22. 2018 was a good year for Mars.

We were the closest since 2003 two years ago.

Hopefully we will have people on Mars for the Earth transit in 2084. That would be cool to see the Earth and the Moon.

[AZ8theist]

23. I'll set my alarm clock!!

[denbot]

17. Yeah, got a naked eye view after the clouds parted.

I could tell the “star” was very indistinct for an actual star. Hope fully I’ll get a chance to view it again tonight.

[ybbor]

20. Good luck

It’s currently snowing here, so I don’t like my chances. I can hope though.

[ybbor]

26. No luck tonight

Cloudy and rainy.

Hope you all are getting a chance

[roamer65]

28. Should still be in field of view for next few days.

Don’t give up hope.

[tavernier]

29. Clear skies here

Impressive, but still not that same buzz when the asteroid hit Jupiter and we saw the flume. That was truly once in a lifetime.

[ybbor]

32. That was sweet

Only saw the video of that, tho.

[bdamomma]

30. To observe this

is it in the "southern sky?

[ybbor]

31. It's in the southwest

Sets pretty early maybe an hour after sunset

[KPN]

33. Good for you! That's really neat. We were swimming

in heavy rain all night so no luck here. Tomorrow’s supposed to be partly cloudy. Fingers crossed.

[keithbvadu2]

34. Really good video of it.

Really good video of it.

Fake and simulated but lots of folks think it's real

https://imgur.com/gallery/C9h2Mt3

[ybbor]

35. That's exactly what I saw!

Lol

It was clear last night tho, so got to show more folks.

[MRDAWG]

36. Get the Skyview free app..........

you can see the planets even if there is a cloud.